


Oh, Brother

by rizcriz



Category: The Magicians (TV)
Genre: Eliot is a self sacrificing dipshit, Gen, M/M, Todd is Eliot's brother, but its okay bc apparently it runs in the family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-25
Updated: 2019-01-25
Packaged: 2019-10-16 06:00:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17544059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rizcriz/pseuds/rizcriz
Summary: He sits at the bar in the kitchen. At least here when he looks out over the kitchen, clutching the coffee cup close to his chest, while he feet dangle over the side of the chair, he isn’t faced with an empty house. The steam floats up, fills his lungs with sweet, sugary warmth, and he lets his eyes fall closed.His jaw clenches unconsciously.They left him again.





	Oh, Brother

He finds the letter when he wakes up. It’s lying on the pillow beside them, almost like an omen waiting to be noticed. He blinks at it from across his pillow for a long moment, before sitting up and sliding out from under the blanket. Taking a deep breath, he tosses his legs over the side of the bed and brings his palms to rub the sleep from his eyes. The letter practically calls to him, but he stands up and walks out of the room.  
  
He knows he won’t hear any voices when he walks down the hall. A letter on the pillow is always bad news. It means he’s alone again. He takes the hall to the stairs, and the stairs to the kitchen to fix himself a cup of coffee. The letter can wait.  
  
He sits at the bar in the kitchen. At least here when he looks out over the kitchen, clutching the coffee cup close to his chest, while he feet dangle over the side of the chair, he isn’t faced with an empty house. The steam floats up, fills his lungs with sweet, sugary warmth, and he lets his eyes fall closed.  
  
His jaw clenches unconsciously.   
  
They left him again.

He opens his eyes and sighs into the cup, before gently setting in on the counter. He knew he should have stayed and listened to their plan. What if something went wrong? What if—he shakes the thought from his head. Nothing happened. They all came back alive last time, they will this time.  
  
He’s just so sick of waking up and never knowing if his brother is alive. It was bad enough bad home. Somehow this is worse. More intense and all consuming than worrying that their father had smothered Eliot in his sleep. His lower lip trembles as he pulls his shirt sleeves down to cover his hands, and shoves off the chair. There’s a slight sting when he hops down onto the floor, but it fades as he walks back up to his room.  
  
Who was he kidding? He’s too curious. Too scared, to ignore the letter.  
  
That doesn’t stop him from lingering in the hallway, though. Just in front of his own door, that had shut behind him. He reaches out with a shaking hand and gently pushes it open. Stares at the letter from the doorway.  
  
It’s definitely Eliot’s script across the face of the folded paper. He’d written his name, as if anyone else would wonder into Todd’s room and read it.  
  
He swallows thickly, and pass across the room. He reaches out, hesitating for only a moment, before snatching the paper up from the bed and moving to sit on the edge to read it.  
  
“ _Todd,  
  
Quentin’s going to do something stupid. I can’t let him. You know I can’t.  
  
For the first time since we came here, I don’t think I can guarantee I’ll be able to protect you. I don’t know what’s going to happen. I don’t even know if it’ll work, but I have to try. I can’t leave him there. You don’t need to worry.  
  
Fogg’ll protect you. He has some plan he won’t tell me about. I don’t know.  
  
I don’t know if I’ll make it back this time. If I’m being honest, if I can’t get Quentin to come with me, I don’t know if I’ll want to. I know it’s not fair to you. I brought you into his. I thought I was protecting you. Thought I was doing the right thing.  
  
I’m not sure anymore.  
  
All I know is you’re my little brother, and keeping you out of this is the only way I can ensure_—“  
  
Todd stops reading, drops the letter between his legs, let’s it flutter to the ground.  
  
This isn’t one of the ‘I’ll see you later don’t fuck shit up’ letters.  
  
This is a  _goodbye_ letter.  
  
He glances down at it, where’s its lying between his socked feet.  
  
Eliot had signed it with,  _I love you_. They’re not the type of brothers that even think about breaking the L word. They barely even  _hug_.   
  
Todd might throw up.   
  
Foggs name glares up at him, too. And Todd feels something in him snap, as he reaches down to violently snatch the letter back up.  _Fuck_ goodbye. He’s stood by and smiled every time Eliots said goodbye. Played along with all his plans. 

So what if Todd doesn’t have magic? So the fuck what. He’s been here just as long as Eliot. Seen all the crazy shit, and the magificent shit–all the kinds of shit, he’s seen it! He’s–  
  
He’s not going to stand by and let Eliot— _what_ , exactly? Is he going to get himself  _killed_?  
  
This letter might be worse than the one that almost looked like a fucking suicide note when they first disappeared to Fillory.  
  
He doesn’t even bother getting dressed, storming through the cottage in his Hufflepuff pajama pants and flannel shirt. Takes the long way to Fogg’s office, cold morning dew seeping up into the fabric of his socks, and up the back of his pant legs.  
  
By the time he gets there, his feet squelch with every step.  
  
“We need to talk,” he demands, without preamble as he shoves past the door and into the office.  
  
But Fogg looks like he’s been expecting him, because he’s sitting at his desk with two cups of steaming cups of coffee—one pale with creamer and the sickly sweet scent of four spoonfuls of sugar, the other black. “Ten minutes early, Todd. I’m almost impressed.”  
  
He stops. “What—“  
  
Fogg actually smiles at him, though it seems pained, as he motions at the chair. “Sit down.”  
  
“What’s going on?”  
  
Fogg let’s out one of his standard, long suffering sighs and nods to the desk again. “We’ve got a lot to discuss and not a lot of time to do it. Sit down.”  
  
“How did you—“ Suddenly, the smile stops, and Fogg does one of those hand dance things everyone does to get magic to work, and Todd’s zipping across the room and plopping down into the chair. He huffs, crossing his arms. “Rude.”  
  
Unsmiling, Fogg picks up his cup of coffee.  
  
“Don’t you want some coffee with that sugar?” Todd bites.   
  
Fogg glares at him from over the rim of the cup. “Your brother’s in danger,” says, before taking a sip. Swallowing, he adds, as he sets the cup down, “And you’re the only one who can help him. So unless you want him and all his friends to die, you’ll sit there silently and listen to what I tell you.”  
  
Todd inhales quickly, nodding. So it was a goodbye letter, then. The rage seems to evaporate right then and there without any notice or warning. Sweeps out of him like a gust of wind. His chest feels cold and aching. 

This is it, then. 

This is the time Eliot doesn’t come back.   
  
“What happened?” He asks, soft, slightly breathless.   
  
Fogg rolls his eyes and glares down at the cup on the table. “He messed with forces he had no right to.”   
  
Swallowing, Todd looks down at his lap. That sounds like Eliot, alright. He wrings his hands. “And–how am I—“  
  
“Magic is being tracked,” Fogg interrupts, and Todd looks back up, meeting Fogg’s steely gaze. “You’re not  _magic_. You’re not being  _tracked_.”  
  
Todd nods, once.  
  
Okay.  
  
But. “Is he okay?”  
  
“For now.”

For now means not for long. It means there’s no time. It means–  
  
“Then we’d better get started.”   
  
Fuck Eliot’s goodbyes and secrets and games. Fuck his  **letters**. Fuck standing on the sidelines while everyone he knows gets caught up in deadly disaster after deadly disaster.  
  
Eliots played hero (badly) for long enough. Todd gets to risk his life for his family, too.  
  
Eliot can be the one that wakes up to a letter full of bad news next time. And he will. Because magic or no magic, whatever mess his brothers gotten himself into, Todd’s going to save him.  
  
And then he’s gonna smile his trademark smile when he punches him in the face for being an idiot. (And then try not to burst into tears when he finally hugs him again.) 


End file.
